1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a hand-held recording device and, more particularly, to a hand-held recording device including means for automatically converting and formatting audio messages to text messages.
2. Prior Art
Records management is a critical function for modern organizations. It is a particularly critical function for hospitals, users' offices, and other health care facilities because accurate and complete records are vital to the proper treatment of a patient. Users, nurses, and other health care workers often document various procedures by using a dictation device. The dictated material must eventually be transcribed.
However, because a health care worker's hands must be used to perform certain procedures, dictation is not always possible and the healthcare worker must rely on his or her memory to transcribe the events at a later time. Any such delay in documenting a procedure can compromise the accuracy and detail thereof. Furthermore, such delays are often to be expected, as distractions, such as medical emergencies, are commonly encountered. The accuracy of such documentation can be crucial, however, particularly when the quality of the medical care becomes the subject of litigation.
In addition, health care workers often must ordinarily carry paper and/or forms on which certain patient information is immediately documented. Transporting and handling such documents is inconvenient. It is therefore apparent that health care workers need to conveniently, accurately, and thoroughly document medical procedures during the performance thereof.
Accordingly, a need remains for a device that digitally records and formats speech so that the speech may be automatically transcribed using voice recognition software.